食荼卧棘 shí tú wò jí

share the people’s hard life; suffer hardship

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to eat bitter fruit and lie on thorns (idiom); to share the hard life of the common people

Characters

Character Meaning
食 shí HSK 5
to eat; food; animal feed
荼 tú
bitter (taste); cruel; thistle
卧 wò HSK 5
to lie; to crouch
棘 jí
thorns